Tennis: Nishikori to face Federer on first day of ATP Finals

06.11.2018

Japan’s world No. 9 Kei Nishikori will meet No. 3 Roger Federer on the opening day of the ATP Finals this weekend, it was revealed as the draw for the tour’s season finale was made Monday night in London.

John Isner was a last-minute replacement for Rafael Nadal, who ended his season with a late withdrawal from the ATP Finals due to an abdominal injury that forced him out of the Paris Masters.

Nishikori suffered his sixth-straight defeat by Federer in the Paris Masters quarterfinals last Friday. Federer, who is chasing his 100th career title, leads Nishikori 7-2 in head-to-head matches.

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Anderson will face French Open finalist Thiem on Sunday afternoon in the other Group Lleyton Hewitt match.

Djokovic, Zverev, Cilic and Isner were pitted against each other in Group Guga Kuerten, which starts Monday.

The ATP Finals, which feature the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the ATP rankings, have a round-robin format, with players and teams split into two groups of four. The top two in each group progress to the knockout semifinals.